


17 Times

by Tarlan



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Community: fanfic100, M/M, Plot What Plot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-09-11
Updated: 2007-09-11
Packaged: 2017-10-20 21:06:25
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,066
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/217097
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tarlan/pseuds/Tarlan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After sixteen attempts to get John to notice him, Rodney decides on a desperate course of action</p>
            </blockquote>





	17 Times

**Author's Note:**

> Especially written for **SONADORITA**  
>  HAPPY BIRTHDAY!  
> LJ FanFic100 096. Writer's Choice.

From the moment they met in the chair room in Antarctica, Rodney felt attracted to John.

Of course, part of that attraction was gene-envy, and maybe a little hair-envy too. Or maybe it was simply the rakish, handsome looks, the soft almost pouty lips and the mysterious smile that caught his eye. Whatever the case, Rodney was secretly very glad that Sheppard would be going to the Pegasus galaxy with the expedition. Learning that Sheppard actually had a working brain beneath that messy head of hair was just icing on the cake, and despite a lingering crush on Samantha Carter, Rodney was happy enough to transfer some of that lust to Sheppard.

The first time Rodney tried to make his move was in the commissary several weeks after arriving in Atlantis. Their limited supplies of Earth-based foodstuffs were growing thin and he managed to pick up two of the last few remaining muffins made with honest-to-goodness Earth ingredients, intending to give one of them to Sheppard as a token of his growing interest and lust, but he never got that far.

"Hey!" Rodney exclaimed as Ford seized the second muffin, hands far too quick for Rodney to stop him. He glared at Sheppard as the man took a seat opposite, expecting him to berate his junior officer and order him to hand it back.

"Settle down, Rodney! You've still got one muffin."

Rodney eyed the muffin carefully. It was his absolute favorite and with a soft whimper, he pulled it close, unable to part with it. Maybe next week they'd find the planet of the blueberries and the cooks would bake a new batch of muffins.

*

The second time Rodney tried to make his move on Sheppard was on some nondescript back water planet with a bunch of suicidal kids. He thought Sheppard would appreciate the ZPM, even if it was mostly depleted. Trust Elizabeth to find a reason why he ought to return it to those damn kids. Of course, he did feel a little guilty when he realized it was their only protection from the Wraith, and once he got the ZPM re-installed, it was only a matter of a few tweaks to increase the size of the shield and save the kids from having to commit suicide when they reached 25. Sheppard had given him a special smile that day, one that made Rodney's knees go all weak – in a manly way of course - but nothing had come of it.

On the third, fourth, fifth and sixth attempts, Ford and Teyla never seemed to get the hint that Rodney wanted some alone time with Sheppard. They insisted on hanging around after movie night until Rodney was, reluctantly, forced to leave at the same time as them. Twice, he almost turned around and went back, anticipating finding Sheppard already stripping down to boxers and t-shirt for the night, or even stripping out of his shirt altogether, revealing dark chest hair curled teasingly around tiny pink nipples. The thought alone was enough to make him hard, cock tenting the crotch of his pants but wandering back down the hallways of Atlantis with the hard-on from Hell was mortifying enough even before Kavanagh turned the corner and gave him a horrified look. Instead he made a decision to get to his quarters fast, push his too-tight clothing to his knees and wrap his hand around his cock, jacking himself to the hot image of Sheppard half naked, dog-tags glinting from that hairy chest... and coming so hard he was certain he'd dropped vital IQ points.

On the seventh attempt, Allina took away his prize of a full ZPM and Sheppard stared at him with such contempt for foolishly dropping his guard – and opening his big mouth - that he figured he'd best lay low for a day or two.

Before taking off for the La Grange point satellite with Miller and Grodin, Rodney made his eighth attempt as he tried to tell Sheppard how much the Major meant to him. Unfortunately, Sheppard interpreted it as some kind of 'death and doom speech' and rolled his eyes.

"You're gonna do just fine, Rodney."

He thought he saw a glimmer of fear in Sheppard's eyes as they paused to say their goodbyes to Elizabeth and Sheppard through the front view screen. He couldn't be certain but he thought Sheppard's lips had formed his name silently, but then they were rising through the open ceiling and heading out on the first leg of a fifteen hour flight towards death and danger. By the time he and Miller returned to Atlantis without Peter, even Sheppard's look of relief at seeing him could not penetrate the guilt and grief of losing Peter. They had destroyed one hive ship but the rest were almost on their door step and no one had the time to do anything except panic as Rodney initiated the countdown to the destruction of Atlantis.

The next few days would forever remain a blur as Carson's drugs swam in his veins, tinged with the quality of old-fashioned horror films and waking nightmares. If he hadn't crashed the moment the last of the Wraith headed back into hyperspace believing Atlantis destroyed then maybe celebration sex might have been on the cards. By the time Rodney returned to the land of the wide awake, the celebratory mood had dissipated as people got down to fixing the damage done by the Wraith.

*

A month later, Rodney decided that a drunken 'I love you' in a bar near the SGC was probably not the best way to make his ninth attempt. For starters, the bar was filled with loud music and raised voices, and Sheppard was equally drunk and unable to figure out a word Rodney was saying. When Rodney placed his arm around him, Sheppard leaned in and kissed him on the temple, all wet and sloppy. Before Rodney could turn his head and demand another kiss, this time on the mouth, Sheppard had excused himself to go to the bathroom. They found him there an hour later, fast asleep on the unsanitary floor. Colonel Mitchell took Sheppard home in his car while Daniel took Rodney back to his apartment. When he awoke the following day, Rodney wasn't certain how he managed to end up in bed with Daniel but as they were both still bundled in layers of clothing, and without any tell-tale stickiness, Rodney had to concede that he'd not got lucky that night after all - or possibly unlucky if rumors of Daniel and Jack O'Neill were to be believed. By the time the hangover disappeared, they were on board the Daedalus and under the resentful and watchful eye of Caldwell.

*

Back in the Pegasus galaxy once more, Rodney felt even more determined to let his feelings known but the 'oh God we are going to die' possibilities of demanding instant life-affirming sex were overshadowed by sunburn and a strong fear of possible radiation poisoning, first from flying too close to a sun and then from planet radiation death world. Of course, Sheppard blamed him for not managing to talk Looney Tunes Ford into coming back with them, and hanging upside down by his ankle had hurt like crazy. Instead, Sheppard had found a caveman to take home with them and spent the next few weeks hanging out with the Neanderthal.

His twelfth attempt to offer Sheppard a prize that would see the man leaping into Rodney's arms - and bed - ended in the destruction of most of a solar system. Even worse, it earned him the contempt of practically everyone on Atlantis except for the Neanderthal, who seemed to be having problems of his own to deal with. Then came bug!Sheppard, the re-emergence of Looney Ford, and yet another ascended chick. Every time Rodney tried to explain how he felt, Sheppard gave him a confused or blank look and so attempts up to sixteen faded away in growing disenchantment, sexual frustration and failure.

Taking a deep breath, Rodney decided that this time was *it*. He'd always considered seventeen a lucky number and this time he was going to make certain Sheppard understood exactly what he wanted, with no gray area for doubts. Hiding in the bathroom, he took another deep breath and waited for Sheppard, almost jumping at the sound of his door chime. The door to his quarters opened at his command and Sheppard stepped inside, looking a little bemused to find the room empty.

"Be right out!" Rodney called.

As he stared through the crack in the bathroom door, Rodney frowned because Sheppard was still dressed in uniform pants and jacket when, more often than usual these days, he would change for their semi-regular chess games. Admittedly, that usually took place in the Commissary rather than in personal quarters but Rodney had persuaded Sheppard to change the venue this one time. Mentally, he commanded the main door to close and lock before stepping out of the bathroom, his bathrobe wrapped tight around him.

"Rodney?" Sheppard raised an eyebrow as Rodney advanced on him, head tilting to one side in naive bewilderment. "I can always go if..."

"No, no, no. Oh no you don't, Sheppard. Not this time." Rodney waggled a finger.

"This time?"

"Are you deliberately trying to be dense? Sixteen times! I've saved a muffin for you, presented you with ZPMs and weapons of mass destruction." He waved off Sheppard's querying gesture. "Yes, yes, admittedly the kids needed the ZPM more than we did and Allina and Doranda were...well, the less spoken about them the better." He drew in another breath. "I've tried baring my soul, so all that's left to gain your attention is..."

Rodney dropped his bathrobe and Sheppard's jaw dropped in the most gormless and yet strangely endearing way. Both eyebrows had risen in surprise, eyes widening fractionally and Rodney thought he heard Sheppard murmur, "Why do I never see this coming?", as Rodney stepped forward, naked body pressing up against Sheppard's clothed body.

As Rodney pursed his lips, mouth heading unerringly towards Sheppard's, his eyes fluttered closed, only to spring open as strong arms wrapped tight around him, squeezing the air from his lungs as Sheppard's mouth devoured his with a low growl of "about time." He felt his body bending over backwards beneath the onslaught, a sensation of falling stopping only when his body hit the mattress with Sheppard's still-clothed body landing on top. Hands were everywhere, gliding over his lower back, gripping his ass, dragging him up against the coarse material of Sheppard's pants. He was released just as suddenly, barely finding time to take a breath as Sheppard stripped; jacket flying in one direction, t-shirt in the other, pants dropping to his ankles almost as soon as he loosened his belt, followed swiftly by boxers, and then Sheppard was pressing back against Rodney, chest to chest, groin to groin. Sharp teeth nipped at Rodney's throat, strong fingers dug into his ass, pain and pleasure mingling until Rodney was coming so hard his brain whited out.

When he came back to his senses, he was lying on his back on his narrow bed with Sheppard half sprawled on top of him, one finger tracing patterns through the sticky residue coating Rodney's belly and chest. He reached for Sheppard, tangling his fingers in the even more messy after-sex hair.

Caught up in the euphoria, he barely noticed when John tensed until he heard the word. "Muffin?"

Rodney narrowed his eyes. "If that's some post-coital endearment you use on all your lovers then..."

"You saved a muffin for me?"

"What?" He frowned, mentally replaying his earlier words. "Well...I would have but Ford ate it."

Sheppard pushed up onto one elbow, looking down at Rodney with a beautiful pout on kiss-swollen lips. "You gave my muffin to Ford?"

"No," he stated, drawing out the negative and wondering if his previous belief that there was a brain under that mop of hair was erroneous. "I said Ford ate it. I didn't say I gave it to Ford."

Sheppard grinned and flopped back down, pinning Rodney beneath him.

"Shepp...?"

Hot lips and tongue plundered his mouth, sucking away his breath and leaving him panting when Sheppard finally pulled back from another toe curling kiss.

"I've had my tongue halfway down your throat, Rodney. Maybe it's time you started calling me John."

THE END


End file.
